


She's the Girl

by StrictlyFromCorn (orphan_account)



Series: Fred Astaire x Ginger Rogers [11]
Category: Astaire/Rogers RPF, Fred Astaire/Ginger Rogers Movies
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-03-16
Updated: 2014-03-16
Packaged: 2018-01-15 21:57:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,659
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1320622
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/StrictlyFromCorn
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>1987: Ginger meets Fred for one of the last times, and helps him down the stairs. The descent down the flight of stairs is short - but their memories take them back half a century, to a rehearsal session for Carefree. Fred reflects on his relationship with her, taking comfort in the fact that they have a special bond. Perhaps, when two people love each other so much, it's better for them not to get married - or their love will set fire to the union.</p>
            </blockquote>





	She's the Girl

**March 14, 1987.**

She crossed her legs, trying not to let her anxiousness show as her blue gaze flitted towards the top of the staircase. Perhaps Hermes was wrong and her dancing partner wasn’t coming after all – but then again, it was so unlike him to not show up for an appointment. Although, she had to admit that Robyn controlled most of Fred’s decisions by that point – and it was something Ginger was _not_ okay with.

As she thought about Fred’s _wife_ , a small twinge of annoyance and bitterness formed within her, but the actress forced herself to ignore it. Thankfully, Ginger was distracted from those thoughts as she finally spotted Fred, at the top of the stairwell, dressed immaculately as always. “Hermes – he’s here!” She was as excited as a little kid as she hurriedly rose from her seat and climbed the stairs, ignoring the pain in her knees. The three dancers had planned a reunion of sorts at Fred’s favorite French restaurant, and the two were waiting in the hotel lobby, neither of them willing to call the room because they would have to deal with Robyn. Speaking of which – there she was, that _bitch_ , standing next to Fred. “Oh, Freddie!” Ginger pointedly ignored his wife’s presence and grabbed her former dancing partner’s hand.

“Hello, Miss Rogers.” Robyn greeted her in an equally icy tone. The two women exchanged a barely-concealed glare as Hermes rushed up the stairs to join the group. “Hello, Mr. Pan.” She nodded to the choreographer, although it was plain to see that she wasn’t too fond of him, either.

“Uh, Mrs. Astaire—“ Hermes began hurriedly, desparate to get Robyn away from Fred and Ginger. It had been much too long since the two of them had gotten the chance to be alone with each other. “I was just wondering if you could, uh, help me. You see, I’m very confused with how something works and I decided you were the best person to ask, and…” As he spoke, he took her by the arm – repugnant as it was to him – and started to lead her in the opposite direction. Goodness knew that Hermes wasn’t going to let Fred’s maritial status bother him.

“Hiya, Ginge.” Fred began with the same impish grin as he had always done before. Every morning on-set, without fail. “Gosh, Hermes ran off so quickly, I didn’t even get a chance to say hi.” He didn’t acknowledge Robyn’s departure, and that made Ginger inordinately happy. “I’ll have a chance to talk to him later, I suppose.” He wobbled forward, trying to descend the steps, and nearly missing them.

“I’ll help you.” Ginger offered quickly, taking him by the arm and gazing at him affectionately. It was such a strange reversal of roles – he was usually the one who helped _her_ out when she twisted her ankle while dancing, and here they were, 50 years later, with _Ginger_ guiding _Fred_ down the staircase of a hotel. As the two took the first step down, safely, her mind returned to a rehearsal session of _Carefree_.

* * *

**March 14, 1938.**

_“Oh, for the love of God, Freddie, how could you possibly lift Ginge?” Hermes asked, half-disbelievingly and half-amusedly. “You’re so skinny that I sometimes don’t know how you manage to dance – no offense to you, of course.” He added hurriedly as he crossed his arms and leaned back in the chair._

_“Of course I can lift her! I think it’d be a nice touch at the end.” Fred responded indignantly, although the grin never left his face. Rehearsals were always light-hearted between them. “Come on, let’s try it. Do ya trust me, Feathers?” He tipped his head to the right, addressing his dancing partner. “I won’t drop you – I give you my word of honor.”_

_“Your word is your bond.” Ginger had the urge to tease him about it, but chose not to. She would trust him with her life in an instant, and the two of them knew it. “Although, I’m warning you, if you do drop me—“ She added as she playfully wagged her finger at Fred._

_“I assure you – we won’t ever get to that point.” He stepped forward, unsure how he was going to lift Ginger. “Well…” Fred hesitated, and then leaned forward and picked her up in his arms, bridal-style. He took a step backwards, but balanced himself. “You know, Ginge, you’re a lot lighter than I expected you to be.”_

_“Really?” Ginger wasn’t sure how to take that comment, although the feeling of being in Fred’s arms was something she loved more than she could describe. “I’m liking this idea of yours, very much.”_

_“I bet… I bet you can’t spin Ginge around!” Hermes challenged, since he had been proven wrong by Fred once, already. He was sure of that statement, and even if his friend did attempt to do it – he would probably drop her._

_“You bet I can!” Fred responded, and without warning, started to spin the two of them around, causing Ginger to giggle as she was reminded of one of those amusement park rides. But of course, it was much better, considering that she was in the arms of the man she loved._

_“I’m dizzy!” She finally managed to enunciate those words, in-between her laughter. Fred stopped, still holding her in his arms, and the two exchanged another laugh._

_“Okay, babe, whatever you say.” He nodded, somehow not feeling dizzy at all. The next thing he knew, Ginger had her arms around his neck, and she reached up to initiate a kiss. The lip-lock was passionate and drawn-out, and Fred could have sworn that he had butterflies in his stomach because they were kissing for so long. “Gosh, Feathers… if only the Hays Code would let us do this after our dance.”_

_“Oh, I wouldn’t recommend it. It may cause a national pandemonium.” Ginger replied teasingly as they broke away. “Their loss—“ She noticed that his hazel gaze was focused on her lips again, and she obliged him as the two lost themselves in another kiss._

_The partners were so immersed in it that they barely noticed Hermes slamming the door shut as he left._

* * *

Fred said nothing as the two made their way down very slowly and carefully. As they walked, he could tell that Ginger was thinking about the past. She was thinking about how he used to be able to break into an intense tap routine that he had done years prior on Broadway. She was thinking about the stamina that he used to have – the same stamina which she had commented on so many times. She was thinking about what he used to be. What they were _– together_.

Fred knew for a fact that Ginger didn’t like Robyn. In fact, most of his old friends despised her – and there were several reasons why they did, actually, but he was honestly too tired to think them all through. Sure, she took care of him, but… so did Ginger. The two had known each other for close to sixty years, and that was quite a long time. Longer than some people lived – and much longer than their friend George Gershwin had lived.

George. He was the reason why the two had met each other, all those years ago, in New York. Without his show, and without his decision to hire Fred to choreograph, they probably wouldn’t have seen each other in the vast city, and they definitely wouldn’t have begun that romantic relationship that persisted throughout their lives and often confused them both. Fred felt a small twinge of pain as he recalled how happy George was when he saw the two dancing partners together – and the last time he talked to the composer. George had said something to the effect of, “can I be the best man at the wedding?” It was a joke – but even then, there was some seriousness to the statement.

There was no denying the fact that he had some degree of affection towards Ginger. Their relationship made no sense whatsoever to him, really, and he often wondered why he didn’t marry her. After all, that was what most romantic relationships progressed into, but for some reason, that never happened between the dancing partners.

But then again, Fred was all right with that. Marriage, after all, was just a legal formality. The two had done what every married couple does – several times, actually, and they often acted just like that. He comforted himself with the knowledge of a special bond between him and Ginger; something which had stayed for nearly sixty years.

She was the girl Fred never married, but loved all his life. She was the girl with whom he was inextricably associated with, because of their ten films together. She was the girl with whom he shared a complicated relationship – and he wasn’t even mad about it, as long as they were together. Separation from Ginger was almost unbearable.

_She’s the girl_. All those complicated thought processes in his mind condensed into that one statement. _She’s the girl_. As they neared the bottom of the stairs, Fred found her grip on his hand tightening, and he could tell that she genuinely cared about him, through that gesture. _She’s the girl_.

“You know, Freddie, it’s unusually cold outside today. You might want to bring along a jacket.” Ginger remarked as they finally reached the bottom. The descent of the flight of stairs was rather short – but in their heads, they went back half a century. Goodness knew that they loved each other – very, _very_ much so.

“C’mon, Feathers, you’re treating me like a little kid. I’ll be fine.” His voice was raspy, but the sparkle and amusement never left his tone.

“Oh, you never know, Freddie. You’ll catch your death of pneumonia someday.” Ginger responded with a teasing wink.

If only she had known that her words would come true in a matter of months.

**Author's Note:**

> And I really apologize for that ending. :P


End file.
